


Bloodwine and Roses

by Angylsmuse, Rina9294



Series: Blood Ties [2]
Category: Earth Angels, Kindred: The Embraced
Genre: Crossover Pairings, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 11:18:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9605519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angylsmuse/pseuds/Angylsmuse, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rina9294/pseuds/Rina9294
Summary: Can a fallen angel love?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted January 2002.

**_Maximilian's Penthouse_ **

 

> _You seduce me, lonely in your hell_  
>  _Naked and hungry, I crawl into your cell_  
>  _A virtual drugstore lying on your bed_  
>  _I can't resist when your blood beats in my head_

Setting aside the guitar after he sang the first verse of his latest composition, Zane yawned as he rose from the black leather chair and prowled around the room. Max had gone out earlier in the evening on one of the things he needed to do alone, the club was almost done being decorated, and now the Toreador was bored.

He supposed he could go track down Antonio, Morrighan or Sylvia to pass the time, but that wouldn't help the restlessness that was consuming him. It had been two days since he'd last tasted Max's blood, and the craving was growing, waking the Beast.

The things he'd learned in the weeks since joining the fallen angel's fold were truly astounding, even more so the things he found he could now do. He needed less and less sleep during the day and wondered at times if soon he would be able to stand the touch of sunlight itself at any time.

Chuckling at the thought of having as much power as one of the ancient ones, Zane wandered out of the recently sunlight-proofed room and down the long hall toward the living room. He was considering heading into the kitchen and warming up a bag of blood when his acute hearing picked up the sound of the elevator opening on the floor and Max's footsteps approaching the doorway, accompanied by a stranger's.

Curious, Zane waited until the two men were inside before wandering into the room, flashing the fallen angel a sultry smile. "Evening, Max." Flicking a glance, the Kindred squinted reflexively. Max's companion radiated the same power the fallen angel did, but it was different, almost incandescent and reminded him of the feeling he had gotten at the angels' loft.

Blinking, he took note of the tall, bald, African-American next to Maximilian, and smiled, pinning down the angel's identity. "And this must be Gregory. Glad to meet you, Greg; you come by to join in a threesome?" Saying this, the vampire ghosted up to Max's side, wrapping his arms around the fallen angel's waist and licking his neck. The scent of blood beating so close beneath the skin made him growl, and he let the Beast move closer to the forefront of his mind in response.

Maximilian laughed and arched his neck a little more so that Zane could feast all the more on his neck. "Gregory follows the rules imposed on us to the letter, Zane my love. He's as pure as the driven snow. Never been touched by mortal hand - well except when he shakes one," the fallen angel laughed.

"Did you have a good day today?" he purred, stroking his hand down the Kindred's flank. "Oh dear, where are my manners... Gregory, this is Zane. He's not human, _dear_ friend, so he doesn't fall within the scope of our rules and regulations. Besides that, he's definitely a _male_ of the species. No procreation could happen even if he were _alive_ ," Maximilian introduced, laughing at the dawning look of horror on the 'good' angel's face.

"Oh come, come, Gregory old chap. Even you have to admit I'm not breaking _any_ rules at all."

"He's... a child of Caine, Maximilian. One of the abominations. And you... with him? Are you insane??" Gregory gasped, horrified.

"Oh, Gregory. My poor, poor friend. He's delicious, delectable and all mine. All the Kindred are mine, in a roundabout way. After all, it was _my_ blood that spawned them," Maximilian smiled, eyes going dark with lust.

"Keep that up, Zane, and we may shock our guest," he remarked, stroking his lover's back.

"He called me an abomination; he deserves to be shocked," Zane growled dangerously as he rubbed himself along Max's side, making sure the man felt how aroused he was. "Though I suppose I'd rather be called an abomination than a boring, follicly challenged stick in the mud like he appears to be. Make him leave, Max. I'm hungry and I want to play."

"Finding loopholes to get around the rules has always been one of your strong points, Maximilian," Gregory said sadly, though he couldn't quite hide the curl of his lip. "Not that it matters in the end. You do know who you are dealing with, don't you, young Kindred?"

Zane rolled his eyes, and they flashed silvery in the lamplight. "Maximilian. A fallen angel. Chief recruiter in NYC for the big guy downstairs. That a thorough enough answer, or should I get more technical? Oh, and he's also my favorite snack and fuck. Hope that doesn't make you jealous."

Gregory held on to his temper by the thinnest of margins. It had been bad enough that Maximilian had chosen the other side over their love but now this...

"You may have him now, Kindred, but he will never be yours permanently. He loves only himself and his own desires. On the other hand, you two probably deserve each other," Gregory replied, shaking his head.

"I had hoped that we could avert this war, Maximilian, but..."

"But your precious little angel girl killed Lucas," Maximilian growled menacingly. "Piece of advice, Gregory. Keep Sarah far, far away from me and mine for a long time. Lucas was one of us, our brother, and she took him. And he was much, much more to me. We may be angels, but our bodies are fragile things, and I wouldn't want to be tempted to hurt poor Miss Sarah for what she did. Now get out!"

Gregory's dark eyes held a world of sadness, and he nodded slowly. "If this is the way it must be, Maximilian. Just remember that he will always love you, as will I." Turning, New York's head angel left the penthouse, his shoulders slumped with the weight of the confrontation. "Bye, Greggy. Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out," Zane laughed, sliding a hand down to massage Max's groin as he continued to give his neck a tongue bath.

"Talk about sanctimonious. No wonder we incinerate if we bite them, no one could take that much self-righteousness." As he spoke, Zane let his fang graze Max's neck and licked at the blood that welled from the shallow cut. "Hungry?" Maximilian chuckled, stroking Zane's soft hair, his eyes still locked on the door Gregory had left by.

"He's wrong, you know," Max continued with a sudden change in topics, "I am capable of loving more than just myself. I loved him for millenia, and then humans came, and I learned the meaning of hate and rage. Gregory always was too damn pious for his own good, but back then I knew no other way, could conceive of no other existence so I loved him... and then I fell and learned what it was to be truly _alive_."

Shaking off his melancholy thoughts like a dog shedding water, Max pulled his head away from the younger man and tugged him forward for a brutal kiss that had Zane's fangs splitting his lower lip. "Bedroom, pet, I want to play, and you seem to be a bit hungry," Maximilian purred.

"I am, and for more than just this," Zane replied, running his fingers over Max's lip, before sucking the blood from them. He could have sealed the small wounds on the fallen angel's mouth but chose not to, liking the look of the crimson liquid spilling over Max's pink lips and pale skin.

Catching Max's hands in his, Zane slithered backwards, leading the angel toward the master bedroom. "I wrote you something today," he murmured, running his hands up Max's arms and down his chest, slipping off his coat and going to work on the buttons of his shirt. "Remind me to play it for you later on."

"Your music tempts an angel to sin - well, this angel at least," Maximilian laughed, letting his clothes fall where they lay. "We really do need to invite Morrighan, Sylvia and Antonio to one of these little play sessions some time. I think you'd enjoy having all of us writhing around you, playing with you, setting off your Beast. Don't you?" the fallen angel continued with a wicked grin.

"I know the girls have been missing certain acts for a while since they've only had themselves and their toys to play with."

Zane unzipped his leather pants and slithered out of them, straightening and stretching his arms over his head once he was nude. "The more the merrier, I always say." He flashed a length of fang when he smiled and dropped to his knees in front of Maximilian, looking up at the fallen angel through slumberous eyes as he nipped at the thin skin of his cock. "They can even bring their toys along too if they want."

Max smiled lethally. "I chose the perfect playmate in you, Zane. Who better to play with a bunch of horny angels than a Toreador who likes to play with any and everyone," Max husked, his eyes darkening with desire. "Do it, Zane, suck me off and then get me hard again. I want to see what it's like to be in _you_ this time."

The vampire moaned, his back arching at the thought of it. Keeping his eyes locked with Max's, he closed his lips around the head of the tempting cock in front of him. Resting his hands on Max's hips, Zane leaned in, an incisor slicing through the skin and teasing him with the taste of Max's blood. Lowering his head until his nose rested against the dark curls of Max's groin, Zane took the fallen angel's cock into his throat, swallowing down his length along with the blood and a tang of his pre-come.

Maximilian moaned, his hands coming to thread through Zane's hair as he watched his lover swallow him whole. There was something to be said for having a lover who was undead and didn't have to breathe when giving a blowjob.

Feeling the shallow slice along his most sensitive of skin, watching Zane's face change, his eyes turn molten silver as the blood began to co-mingle with Max's precum had to be the most erotic sight the angel had seen in... longer than he cared to remember.

It was wholly decadent and debauched, the look that Zane had on his face, and Maximilian felt a swelling of arrogant pride that it had been _him_ that had put it there. This creature was _his_ , bound to him by blood and lust, and the fallen angel felt some strange fluttering around the region of his heart when he thought of sharing him - jealousy. _I'm jealous of letting anyone near this perfect, exquisite, beautiful boy. He's **mine**!_ Max snarled in the recesses of his mind. _All mine!_

Concentrating on tonguing and massaging the hard length of flesh that filled his throat and mouth, Zane only peripherally noticed the fleeting change of Max's expression, and what he did see only served to make him more ravenous.

Suckling harder, he concentrated on driving the man wild, tightening his fingers into the flesh of Max's hips, urging him to thrust forward and use his mouth as he saw fit. The flow of blood from the shallow scrape died off, and Zane twisted his head just enough to reopen the wound, craving more and more with each small trickle.

"Yes, that's it, fuck, oh yeah, baby, you do that so..." Max growled low in his throat, his head finally falling back onto his shoulders and his hands beginning to guide Zane's head, fucking the younger man's face in order to get the sensation he wanted.

"So good, so fucking goo..." The sharp slice of another wound being opened along his erection was too much for the fallen angel, and with a bellow he came, flooding Zane's mouth and throat with a mixture of blood and his seed as his sudden jerking made the younger man's teeth gouge a larger rent in his flesh than Zane had thought to make.

As the ambrosia-like liquid cascaded down his throat, Zane swallowed greedily. The Beast rumbled, testing his control, wanting him to simply clamp down and suck harder, draining Max of blood as well as seed.

Growling deep in his throat, hearing the moan that Max gave as the rumblings vibrated along his cock, Zane sat back on his haunches, needing to break contact with him to avoid losing all control over himself. Swiping the back of his hand over his mouth, then licking the mixture of blood and semen from his skin, the Kindred crouched there for a moment, his expression one of almost animalistic need. With a shake of his head that sent his hair falling over his forehead, Zane flowed to his feet, seeming to vanish then appear behind Max, rubbing his face against the side of the fallen angel's neck.

"That took care of the sucking you off... Now let's see about the getting you hard again..." After licking Max's neck to anesthetize the skin, he plunged his fangs into Max's neck, sucking hard as his hand curved around the angel's cock, feeling it harden under his palm almost immediately.

"Sweet Hell!" Max bellowed as the erotic feel of blood being drawn from his body combined with the younger man's stroking of his cock. "Zane, yes, baby, so good!" the older man gasped as he stood perfectly still, not wanting to tear his neck further as he knew that the Kindred's Beast now rode his back.

It was delicious torment, and if it didn't stop soon, Maximilian knew he would come again just from the sensation of being fed from. There was something truly carnal about being another person's sustenance, knowing that his blood was what kept Zane alive and bound to him...

"Enough, Zane, or I'll pass out," he commanded quietly when he felt himself tilt a little. He wanted to be able to pound the younger man into the mattress, and having to recover from blood loss was not conducive to his plans.

Fighting the instincts that told him to continue, Zane roughly pulled his head back, his fangs dragging furrows in Max's neck. Power raced through him, causing tremors to skitter through his body and his cock to throb with need.

Dragging his tongue over Max's neck to close the wounds, Zane spun the human around, laying claim to his body and grinding their erections together, his strength for the moment equal to the fallen angel's. "Fuck me," he growled, "now." Pushing back hard so that Zane went sprawling across the bed, Max was on him immediately, biting and nipping and licking his way down the Kindred's body. Each bloom of color had Maximilian feeling smugger than before - that was _his_ blood pumping through Zane's veins that made the color stand out on his pale flesh. If the fallen angel needed a physical sign of his ownership of the man beneath him, this truly sufficed.

Raking his nails along Zane's chest, biting the younger man's nipples hard, Max took and claimed what was his. This time _he_ was the one dominating things. Red welts and marks soon appeared over much of Zane's chest and inner thighs, although his cock remained untouched. "Gorgeous," Max sighed before hauling himself off of the vampire and walking to the night table to grab the lube and slick himself.

"Hands and knees, Zane," Max purred as he watched the younger man writhe and snap and growl, needing more. "I want to take you from behind, and I don't want any surprise bites," he grinned.

Zane had to laugh at that, though the sound was more of a snarl. Flipping over, he rose up on hands and knees, looking over his shoulder back at the beautiful man stalking toward the bed, ready to lay claim to him. "Fucking beautiful..." he whispered, spreading his legs wider, anticipating the pain of being taken with greedy avarice. His cock was hard and dripping, slapping against his stomach with each move he made.

"Yes, you are," Max agreed, covering his lover and biting down hard on Zane's neck as he thrust into the tight body spread open and ready for him. He bit hard enough to taste a few drops of his own blood before the wound resealed and he growled at the experience. There was something so forbidden about tasting the blood of a vampire that Max found himself, impossibly, more aroused than before.

Slamming into Zane over and over, Maximilian took without thinking; all he knew was that he wanted and that Zane was his. His to take as he saw fit and he was hungry enough for the younger man to take without thought of anyone else's pleasure.

Howling at the pain that swiftly transmuted to pleasure, Zane lunged back into Max's thrusts, wanting more. More feeling, more sensations, more stimulation. Wanting to turn his face and snap at Max's wrists, Zane lowered his head to his forearms, gnawing on his own flesh, the secondary rush of tasting the fallen angel's blood from his own veins enough of a turn on to push him that much closer to his own climax. "Harder," he snarled, doubting that Max heard him but needing that extra stimulation to shove him over the edge. Leaning to the side, he flailed a hand back, his blood-slick hand sliding over his cock in a blur of motion. Max surged and lunged, taking and claiming the hard length of body writhing beneath him harder and faster than he'd ever done with any lover. Oh, the games he could play with Zane, the darkly erotic fantasies he had that he hadn't been able to fulfill since mortal flesh was so weak. He could have it all with this man.

Over and over he slammed into Zane, pulling out completely before penetrating him again. Maxmilian's hand slipped underneath the heaving chest to twist and pull at Zane's nipple, his other bit hard into the younger man's hip, holding him still. Leaning forward, the fallen angel chewed his way up Zane's spine, feeling more feral than he ever had before.

"Come, Zane, now," he whispered seductively in the young Kindred's ear, nibbling softly on the delicate flesh, mouthing the earring, the softness a complete counterpoint to the violence with which he took Zane's body.

Torn apart by the dichotomy of sensations assaulting his body, Zane shuddered. Max was in him, on him, surrounding him, and he wanted to feel this possession forever. It surpassed the ties that bound sire to childer, the lines that tied clan members together; it was everything, the ultimate high. His back arched as Max's teeth closed on the thin skin over the small bumps of his vertebrae, and when the fallen angel's rough velvet voice husked in his ear, Zane had no choice but to follow. Whipping his head down with inhuman agility, he buried his fangs in the wrist of the hand that had been pulling on his nipple, taking only a mouthful of blood before pulling back, the force of his orgasm shaking his whole body and causing dark flowers to bloom across his vision.

Max wanted to crow his victory but instead bellowed as his own orgasm was wrenched from him by the spasming muscles of the preternatural creature beneath him. Over and over he sent gouts of hot seed flooding into Zane's cold body until he collapsed on top of the younger man, sated and spent.

Finding enough energy to roll them to their sides, Max spent long, lazy moments exploring and tasting Zane's mouth, enjoying the peace that surged through him and the knowledge that this glorious being in his arms was his and his alone.

"Think we'll have to invite your old friend over more often," Zane sighed, twining his long legs around Max's and running his hands over the angel's back. "He seems to inspire you." There was just a hint of jealousy amidst the lazy satisfaction of the Kindred's tone, and if he had been worried about such things, he would have wondered if this was some kind of elaborate revenge. "It wasn't Gregory that inspired me, Zane. You can do that all on your own," Maximilian chuckled quietly, hearing the jealousy loud and clear. "What my fellow angel and I had died long before humanity ever existed, at least on my part, when the war started. I don't hate him, but the love I had for him is well and truly dead. He's a confused child to me, a sheep blindly following without asking why, and I pity him.

"But you, blood of my blood, are temptation incarnate. Perfect and lush and just what I want. I don't need Gregory to inspire me when all I have to do is look at you and remember that you are mine. That is more than inspiration to me!"

Looking pleased with that answer, Zane nuzzled Max's neck. He was full, but the temptation to taste the fallen angel's blood once more was still there, teasing him. "What better companion for one such as yourself then one such as I am," he murmured, pulling back to gaze into Max's emerald eyes. "I'm looking forward to Elysium's completion. When other Kindred investigate it - and they will - I'm planning on offering them glimpses of what your side offers. Somehow I don't think it will be very hard to convert the younger ones." He paused, opening his mouth to run his tongue over his fangs. "Just so long as they remember that you are mine."

"Just so long as you don't offer us up as a blood bank for the Kindred," Maximilian chuckled quietly, then sobered. "Just you, Zane. You're the only one that can know what our blood does - if the feeding frenzy starts again... well, to say that there would be hell to pay wouldn't be too far from the truth.

"I went precariously far out on a limb letting you know the secret of your heritage and the source of the Kindred strengths. It's a branch that can very easily be broken, and if it does... well, _he_ will not be pleased with me," Max admitted.

Rolling them both over, Zane pushed up onto his arms and stared unblinking down at Maximilian. "Do you really think I'm that stupid? Convincing them to break with the Camarilla or the Sabbat and offering them safety should be enough for them. Just why they have protection doesn't have to be specified."

He smiled then and lazily plundered the fallen angel's succulent mouth. "I plan on making myself indispensable to you, Maximilian. I want you to crave me like I crave you."

Abruptly changing topics and losing the feral gleam to his eyes, Zane rose and poured the fallen angel a glass of wine. He returned to the bed carrying the glass and a plate of delicate canapés. "Better build your blood back up. Eat and I'll tell you how renovations are going at the club."

Maximilian brushed his fingers against the Kindred's cheek in thanks then took a heady sip of the burgundy. "Delicious," he sighed, before taking another mouthful and sharing the taste with Zane.

"And make no mistakes, my Kindred lover, I do not mistake you for a fool. You have the capacity for such greatness about you. In time, with tempering, you could make the Prince of this city fall to her knees before you... and you could have revenge against those who wronged you. Lillie for instance," the older man continued, stroking his thumb across the scar that circled Zane's neck.

"Would you do something for me, not because I would deny you anything, just because I have a particular fetish?" Maximilian asked after leisurely snacking on a few of the delights that Zane had provided for him and swallowing a few more mouthfuls of wine.

"A fetish?" Zane asked, his eyebrows arching upward before he chuckled. "As long as it doesn't involve animals or stakes, I have no problem with it."

He plumped up a pillow behind his back and managed to shift Max over to lean against him without spilling a drop of his wine. "What is it you want - or want me to do?"

"I have a thing for tattoos. They turn me on. Lu... my last lover had quite a few, and I would spend hours tracing them with my tongue, my fingers, other body parts. They just do something for me," Max admitted, letting his head fall into the crook of Zane's neck.

"It's sort of an ongoing thing. I've had it for centuries, basically ever since the first time dye pigment was injected into skin."

"Lucas, hmm?" Zane smiled and rubbed a hand over Max's stomach. "Don't look so shocked; I kind of figured out that he was more to you than a minion when you had me kill that girl to avenge him."

He brought his other hand up to his neck, tracing his fingers over the ridged scar tissue and thinking. "And I like ink, have a few ideas as to what to get done. Let me guess though... you want to watch me get it?"

"Lucas was my... was the first one I brought over from the other team. He was fractious, disobedient, too independent for his own good, and I was so proud of him. He was on his way, _is_ on his way to having his own city to influence. He's not dead; we don't die really, just return to our master until we're given a new assignment. He will be rewarded and sent back... just not to me," Maximilian admitted softly.

"As for your tattoo, yesssss," the older man hissed, feeling an impossible twitch of his cock at the thought of watching Zane mark himself all because Maximilian wanted it. "Damn, yes, I want to watch. The idea of you marking yourself for me..." A full body shudder ran through the fallen angel, and his breathing accelerated slightly.

"So, if someone gets me, you'll avenge me too. Good." That said, Zane seemingly forgot the subject and turned to the thought of his tattoo and what the thought of it did to Max.

"Like that idea, huh? Doesn't really matter to me who does it as long as they're good. Let me know who did Lucas', and I'll arrange a visit - or see if they do house calls - that way it won't be too far to a bed after though the thought of you fucking me up against the wall behind a seedy store does have merit."

Max growled low in his throat. "You'd tempt one of Gregory's whelps to fall, little Toreador," he informed the Kindred before turning his head to bite down hard on the flesh of Zane's neck, right where one of his own kind would have fed.

"And of course I'd avenge you. But nothing will happen to you, Zane. I will _not_ permit it." Maximilian's eyes flashed an unholy shade of green, and in his hand the wine glass shattered from the sudden fury of thought. No one, _no one_ would take this one away from him as they had Lucas. He'd fight to the dying breath of his soul for this one.

"Easy, Max," Zane purred, picking up the pieces of shattered crystal and tossing them into the wastebasket near the bed. He examined his lover's hand, frowning when he saw blood welling from several narrow cuts. "My kind is more resilient than yours - in this form anyway. I'm going to be a lot harder to kill than Lucas was."

He licked Maximilian's palm, closing the wounds, then pressed a kiss against the damp palm. "I was thinking of putting my design on my neck. I hate this scar and what I have in mind would cover it nicely."

"It would look beautiful there," Max husked, calming slightly as he rubbed his finger across the base of Zane's neck over the scar ridge, reminding himself of the vampire's resilience. "What are you going to get, or are you going to surprise me?"

Zane thought about it for a moment and smiled. "Surprise you, I think. I'm sure you'll understand the meaning of it when you see it."

Maximilian laughed. "Your prerogative. Tell me what you've done to the club and when it will open. Soon, I hope, it was a profitable little business, although most of the money came from Lucas' side industries, ones that allowed us to further our goal. Drugs and prostitution to be precise."

"I can only do so much in a week, Max," Zane grinned, nipping at the fallen angel's ear. "Miracles are not my provenance. Considering that most of the changes are cosmetic, it should only be a few more weeks until it re-opens under its new incarnation. Dark, primal, gilt-edged decadence wrapped around temptation. Just like the man funding it."

"And the man running it. It sounds like Haven," Maximilian stated with a grin. "Did you know they have a shrine to you there? Lillie was the one who put it up. I knew you looked familiar and she sounded familiar. It was the club that tied it all together.

"I was there this afternoon. Had a little business with my San Francisco counterpart and thought I'd take a peak. I was most amused at the way they scattered when I walked in and the blood tears that Lillie cried over your loss. If she only knew," the fallen angel gloated.

"Really?" Zane asked, unable to hide the surprise in his voice. For a moment he felt an unbelievable longing for the sense of community he'd felt among the Kindred of San Francisco, but it passed quickly when he reminded himself of everything he'd gained in New York.

"And I suppose as far as the similarities, it's in the blood." He smiled and rubbed the surface of his teeth over Max's shoulder. "Though I think that I have much better taste in lovers - well, other than her taking me as one." "Conceited pup," Max chuckled, elbowing the vampire in the ribs, "although I won't disagree with that statement. Soon you'll have your own family of Kindred, Zane, and they will look to you for guidance and protection. Soon you will be primogen of your own little group. A new clan. Think of the power you'll wield," Max husked, his hand snaking between their bodies to rub the younger man's cock, petting and stroking him.

Zane arched up into the touch, his own hand dropping and circling Max's shaft. Noting that he was already more than half hard, the Kindred had to smile. "And should I name the clan the Zanites or perhaps the Maximites or simply the Hedonists?"

"I think you should forget about coming up with a clan name and concentrate on me again," Max ordered gruffly, pulling Zane's head down so that he could ravish his lover's mouth properly. "After all, I'm 'godfather' of your little clan," he chuckled.

"Just don't you dare go all Marlon Brando on me." Zane shuddered. "But as for tribute..." He laughed against Max's lips, "I have a few ideas." Flipping them both over, he began working his way down the fallen angel's back, nibbling on each vertebra as he passed it before finally reaching his prize, the dark rose nestled between Max's asscheeks. "Mmmm, exquisite," the vampire sighed, breathing deeply then using his tongue to wet and stretch Max's entrance.

Maximilian's hands fisted in the sheets, and his ass thrust up into the touch. So perfect, so good at what he was doing, Max thought dreamily, his body quivering with need. And to think that those tight assed do-gooders were missing out on this! Fools, all of them! They could have their precious, perfect Rachel; Max had something much better - he had lust and avarice and vice... and most importantly he had Zane.

"Yes, fuck, feels so good," the older man moaned into the pillow that cradled his head as he felt his cock harden and fill with blood once more.

"Glad you think so," Zane purred before continuing with what he was doing, long, broad laps along the fallen angel's tiny entrance, punctuated every so often by a sharp probing of the relaxing muscle.

He knew he could go on like this all night, gorging himself on the taste and scent of Maximilian's body, but knew that the fallen angel would have to sleep eventually, both to rest and to replenish his blood supply. The fact that while Max was an angel, his body was mortal was one that Zane tried to keep in mind when dealing with the man; if he hurt his lover, he'd never forgive himself.

Shaking off the sobering thought, Zane slid a hand under Max's body, circling and stroking his cock, working the fallen angel toward yet another orgasm. "Like that, perfect Zane," Max moaned, thrusting between the dual pleasures of hand and tongue. "So good, so right. Mine, harder, need more, need... there, right... fuck YES!" Max bellowed as another, weaker orgasm wracked his exhausted body, leaving him weak and limp.

"I wish you could have seen me as I was, as I truly am. This mortal body, while pretty, is nothing to what I truly am. I could outlast _you_ , my Zane, in my true form," Max sighed.

"Maybe one day I'll get to." Rolling the fallen angel over to his back, Zane licked his flesh clean before lifting his head and cocking an eyebrow at him. "Though I'm not sure you can improve on the looks much."

Crawling upward, he rose to his knees when his cock was even with Max's face. Stroking along the hard length, Zane licked his lips. "You too tired to blow me, Max?" "No one was more beautiful than the one I chose to follow; he was the most beautiful of all the angels, and none could hold a candle to him, but I wasn't too bad," Max laughed as he let his tongue dart out to lap at the weeping tip, tasting the saltiness of blood and Zane's own personal flavor.

"Please don't take offense when I don't swallow, my love," Max husked, tracing his way around the hard cock before him, "but swallowing great mouthfuls of blood just isn't my thing," he chuckled, "although a nip or two is quite exhilarating," the fallen angel admitted before taking Zane in his mouth and swallowing him down.

Groaning, raising his arms to brace himself against the wall behind the bed, Zane rocked his hips, gradually pressing more and more of his cock into Max's mouth until the angel was deep throating him with exquisite control and finesse. "Fuck... Oh yeah... Max, so good. Beautiful... What a mouth..." The feel of hot, wet suction surrounding his flesh drove the Kindred's desire to new heights, and it was only the knowledge that Max had to breath that kept him from fucking his face until he surrendered to oblivion. "No problem at all," he sighed, brought back to himself by the feeling of paint and plaster crumbling under his fingernails. "That just means more for me to clean off of you."

The nip that earned him made Zane's whole body jerk, and he looked down, watching his cock move in and out of Max's swollen, red lips until he couldn't take it any longer. Pulling back so as not to come down the fallen angel's throat, he gave a grunt when Max lashed the head of his cock with his tongue, then came, the streams of reddish fluid leaking out of Max's mouth, down his neck and onto his chest.

Barely giving himself a second to recover, Zane dropped to his hands and knees, lapping up at his seed, cleaning every inch of Max's skin before kissing him to get the last remnants of blood from his mouth. "Tasting me in your mouth... that's heaven to me," he murmured. "Or as close to it as either of us will ever get again," Max agreed, running his fingers through Zane's dark hair. "So beautiful and debauched, so mine," the older man purred, his eyes growing heavy with the need to replenish his body. "Sing for me, Zane. I want to hear that glorious voice sing me to sleep again," he requested with a tired yawn.

"Anything for you, Max," Zane replied, meaning every word of it. Making sure that Max was comfortable, the Kindred settled in beside him, resting Max's dark head on his shoulder and wrapping his arms around his lover's chest.

 _You seduce me, lonely in your hell_  
_Naked and hungry, I crawl into your cell_  
 _A virtual drugstore lying on your bed_  
 _I can't resist when your blood beats in my head_

_It's that everything is justified by you_   
_I get off watching you bleed_   
_You get off on feeding my disease_   
_And your words are as deadly as a needle in a vein_

_It's that everything is justified by you_   
_Even my demise is justified by you_   
_I'll never tire of living for your touch_   
_I'll never tire of needing you so much_

He finished singing and looked down at Max's face. His eyes were closed, his thick lashes resting against his cheeks like the ends of a lush fur pelt.

"Sleep well, my love," Zane murmured, sliding out of the bed. The night was still young, and he had plans to put into motion.

~*~*~

Maximilian looked up from the latest report on the state of his finances to see Zane lounging in the doorway. "I thought you were going to the club until midnight?" the fallen angel smiled, setting aside his papers.

"Didn't you want to check on how it was going since it's almost done? And when, pray tell, can _I_ see this masterpiece?" the older man continued with a quiet laugh. If it had been anyone but Zane forbidding him to enter something that was his, even Lucas, he would have made sure the punishment was swift and harsh.

But this Kindred brought out something in him that he'd long forgotten. Tenderness and patience. So for now he was willing to play this little game of cat and mouse Zane's way, letting the young man test his wings and learn from his mistakes, not that he'd made any yet, simply because it amused Max to do so.

"You'll see it before it opens, I promise," Zane promised, moving over to the desk and kissing Max hello. "I'll give you the grand tour - nothing will go unexplored." He eyed his lover hungrily, promising much more than a tour while they were there.

"But to keep you amused while you wait to see it, I've arranged a little something for your entertainment -and mine. Remember that fetish you wanted to explore?" He grinned down at Max and the hunger that leaked into his green eyes, "I've set it up for tonight."

Maximilian's eyes darkened to a deep jade green, almost black in their intensity. "So where are we going?" he purred, pulling Zane down into his lap and ravishing the Toreador's mouth, chewing on his lower lip before releasing it at last. "And when do we leave?"

"Nowhere, and we don't," Zane murmured in response. "She's doing it here. Cat, come in here," he called toward the door, smirking when a pale young woman with pitch-black hair in Goth attire walked into the office.

"Max, Cat. Cat, Max. He wants to watch." Zane turned his attention back to Max, kissing him again. "And don't worry, she's trustworthy. I know why ghouls come in handy now. A little blood and they're eternally devoted. Where do you want her to set up?"

Maximilian looked at his lover askance and then let out a roar of laughter, hugging him tight. "You are going to set the world on fire, baby," he laughed. "Making ghouls just to get tattoos, I love it!"

Grinning at the young Goth, Max assessed her carefully. "She's well on her way to being one of ours. Did you see the tracks on her arms? Is she clean enough to do this? I don't want her hurting you," Max whispered, licking his way along Zane's ear.

"She's fine," Zane assured Max before raising his voice. "Cat has discovered a high better than horse, haven't you, doll?"

The woman blinked, her dark eyes never wavering as she watched the two men stroke each other. "I don't need it anymore, I found something stronger. Even the purest shit couldn't make me feel like you do." "See?" Zane asked, sliding out of Max's lap and giving his servant a kiss on the cheek. "Nothing to worry about at all. Besides, Cat knows what happens if I get hurt, don't you doll?" For a split-second, hard cruelty shone from his eyes and the tattoo artist gave a shudder.

"Good, I wouldn't want to have to add my own brand of displeasure to the mixture," Maximilian replied seriously. "She can set up in the bedroom. I want you comfortable for _everything_ we do tonight," the fallen angel purred, licking at Zane's throat.

"Morrighan," Max called out, watching as the female angel appeared inside of a heartbeat. "Take our little Cat to the master bedroom and help her set up. She'll be decorating Zane tonight," he requested with a grin.

"Pretty," the dark-haired angel purred, walking around Cat, her eyes gleaming. "To the tattoo and the artist. Mmmm, I could just eat you up, little kitten. Come with me, I'll make sure your every need is seen to."

"Wait until _after_ Zane's had his work done, if you please, Mor," Maximilian called after the two women, laughing. "You had to chose a pretty little morsel for Morrighan to want, didn't you?"

"Well, she will deserve a reward once she's done, and I believe you and I are going to be too busy to give it to her. I knew that one of the others would appreciate her." He pulled Max into his arms and rubbed the lengths of their bodies together. "She knows the design I want, helped me finalize it in fact." Moving around behind Max, he rested his chin on the fallen angel's shoulder and licked his neck. "Come on, lover. Let's get this done so we can get to the good stuff."

"You look pale, Zane; you haven't fed tonight, have you?" Max asked softly as they walked through the penthouse, hand in hand. "There's blood in the fridge, baby..." he offered, not liking the fact that the younger man was denying himself what he needed to continue.

The Toreador shrugged, dismissing the fact. "What is the point? This way nothing will get in the way of Cat's work, and I can always some afterwards. Of course if you jump me before I get a chance to do that, we may have a problem." As much as he'd like to feast on his lover every night, Zane knew it wasn't practical or safe for Max's all too human body.

"I'll go and warm some up for you myself while she's finishing up, and there's blood wine in the bedroom. I had Catherine send me over a couple of casks for you," Maximilian replied, bringing Zane's hand up to his lips. "And I promise to show enough restraint to allow you to feed before I jump you since I'm not quite ready to have you feast on me again." Zane pouted extravagantly before pulling their hands over to his lips and licking Max's palm. "You are too thoughtful, my love." He chuckled softly as they walked into the master bedroom to see Cat's equipment set out on a serving tray alongside the bed and Cat plastered up against Morrighan while the dark-haired angel kissed her way down the ghoul's neck to the slight curve of her chest.

"Art first, play later," Zane called out, causing the young woman to jump and Morrighan to growl. Letting go of Max's hand, Zane stripped out of his sheer white shirt, tossing it toward the closet and moving over to pour himself a glass of the blood wine.

Sipping at it, he arched an eyebrow, looking back at Maximilian before downing the rest of the goblet. "Good vintage, just what did you do to Catherine to get it?"

"I simply told her I wanted some, she provided the vintage. I think she's smart enough to realize that I want only the best for you. And I cautioned her that I would be having one of her people taste each cask and that I'd be pouring the glass. She's a smart lady.

"Besides," Maximilian continued with an evil smile, "there are those of her family that _we_ control. Her blood family before her change. She knows that if she plays nice with me, they get better treatment, so it all balances out in the end."

Looking towards the female angel, Max cocked his head. "You can play later, Mor, I promise. Right now, this whole exercise was to get Zane tattooed."

"Fine, but I get first pick," Morrighan growled as she flounced out the room.

"But of course. Cat, where would you like him?"

The dark-haired ghoul raised heavy-lidded eyes to look at Maximilian. "If you have a chair with a headrest..."

No sooner had she spoken than Zane vanished from the bedroom, returning carrying a heavy reclining seat with a neck brace. "Like this?" he asked, even before Cat finished speaking.

"Perfect." She smiled up at the Toreador, indicating where to place the chair. "This way your neck won't be twisted while I work on it."

Zane set the chair down and turned back to Max. Cradling the fallen angel's exquisite face in his hands, the Kindred kissed his lover. "Find a comfortable spot and enjoy the show, love." That said, he crossed to the chair and sat down, resting the back of his neck on the curved support, exposing his throat to his servant.

Wasting no time, Cat got to work, tracing a finger over the raised flesh of Zane's scar before raising the ink gun and beginning to inject the dye beneath his skin, covering the imperfection with a line that at times looked like the stem of a rose, at others, like a slim-bodied snake.

Max reclined on the bed, looking like the temptation he was, and watched in rapt fascination and increasing arousal as his lover was marked just for him.

~*~*~

Cat finished the last injection of dye, wiping away the excess ink that welled up and began to clean up.

Crawling off the bed, Max looked down at the elaborate black rose that blossomed on the nape of Zane's neck, touching it almost reverently. "Exquisite work, Cat. You look beautiful, my Zane. No, lie still a moment," Maximilian commanded as he ran a hand across the young man's shoulders. "I'll go grab you some dinner to whet your appetite, and while you're eating, I'll escort Cat out to Morrighan, since they seemed to be in the middle of something earlier," the older man leered.

Zane tilted his head to watch the two of them leave, then closed his eyes. He was starving, and he'd expended his strength to keep from sinking his teeth into Cat's wrist as she worked on him. The slight, constant pain of the gun's needles sinking into his skin had been a turn on, as had the voracious look in Max's eyes as he watched the design develop.

And the look when he realized what it was... Lost in the lush beauty of the black rose of the Toreador clan was a snake, the two entwined so that there was no beginning or ending between them. He was Max's as Max's was his; it was that simple and that complex.

Deep in thought, Zane didn't hear Max return to the bedroom, only looking up at the soft sound of the door latch falling into place. In his hands, Max held a bag of blood. Even from this distance, Zane could make out the name of one of Manhattan's leading hospitals on it, and he wondered just who on the payroll there was also on Max's.

"Thank you, love," he murmured, sitting up and twisting around in the seat even as he sank his fangs through the thick plastic. Draining the first bag, he moved onto the second, assuring himself that if he did bite Max during their fucking, he'd only take a mouthful or two, just enough to make both of them hotter.

"So," he asked, running a hand over his neck, envisioning the dark design in place of the line of flesh he felt there, "do you like it?"

"I love it," Max husked, his hand enclosing Zane's, tracing the pattern as well. "And I.... I love you, my Zane," the fallen angel admitted, uttering a phrase he hadn't used since his fall, wondering if he was thrice damning himself with its utterance.

Love... it was a frightening feeling after all these millenia, one that sent shivers of dread down his spine. He had a weakness now, but he couldn't be made to regret it. He and Zane were as intertwined as the pattern on his lover's body. It was... meant to be.

"Come to bed, Toreador siren. Come make love with me," the fallen angel whispered, pulling Zane from his chair and towards the bed.

Treading carefully, wondering if the sky was going to split open or the bowels of Hell run through the streets of Manhattan because of what the fallen angel had just said, Zane followed after Maximilian. He'd heard Max use the word many times but never with meaning as he seemed to have now.

"Make love with you?" he asked lightly, licking a stray bead of blood from his lower lip and starting to unbutton Max's shirt, his nails rasping lightly against the fallen angel's pale skin. "As in slow and tender? You going soft on me, Max?"

"Do I look soft to you, Toreador?" Max chuckled quietly pulling Zane's hand down to feel the blood engorged flesh of his groin. "Does _this_ feel soft to you?" he continued, purring as Zane's deft fingers began to knead and massage his aching flesh.

"Father, that feels good," Max moaned, his head falling back as the pleasure raced over him. A hunger built and overcame Maximilian, causing him to spin them both around and all but shove Zane back onto the mattress, tearing at the Kindred's clothes as he did so. "Need you, want you, love you," he snarled, springing on top of the young vampire and latching onto his neck savagely, wanting to at least mimic the sensation of feeding for Zane.

"If I could, I'd let you turn me but my... father has a previous claim to me already," Max sighed as he at last released the bruised and tender looking flesh. "I haven't been totally honest with you... force of habit and nature," the chief fallen angel admitted. "I neglected to tell you one small fact, one I hinted at to Catherine, the Prince, but never...

"The reason I was a foot soldier, that I worked my way up the ranks, was that my father didn't want to show me any favoritism, but I am," Maximilian swallowed. This was something that had never been spoken out loud although Gregory knew, and the others on both sides suspected. "There is a reason why this human form is as beautiful as it is, why I'm so appealing to both men and women - a tempter and a siren like you. I am _HIS_ son. The man upstairs wasn't the only one who procreated back then... _he_ created me. I was born of his flesh, in his image. I may be Maximilian Sinclair here on Earth but down there, well..."

Eyes still half lidded with pleasure at the feeling of Max's weight on top of him and the ache in his neck from the angel's attack there, Zane looked up at Max for a long moment before smiling. "You're the heir apparent," he finished, not really caring who Max was down there at that moment, only about who and what he was right now.

Gliding his hands down the fallen angel's strong back, Zane closed his hands on Max's ass, grinding their cocks together as his legs fell open wider around Max's thighs. "Cool. Now can we get back to what we were doing? You stop now to talk, and I'm not gonna be happy."

"And the last thing I want is my Kindred lover to become unhappy," Maximilian chuckled as he bit down and began to worry on the nape of the younger man's neck "After all you're preternaturally strong; you have fangs and wickedly sharp nails that can cut through bone. Wouldn't want you to decide to give me a homemade tattoo.

"Mmmm, speaking of those delightful things," the fallen angel continued to purr, "yours is truly a work of art. Little Cat did a magnificent job. I could spend hours just tasting it - rubbing my tongue all over that lovely design and feeling the flesh beneath the ink," Max sighed as he did precisely what he'd described and began to draw the pattern all over again with the tip of his tongue, wanting to drive the Kindred a little crazy, liking the results when he got like that.

Writhing bonelessly under Max's attention, Zane rubbed himself against the fallen angel, his erection pushing at the hollow of Max's thigh. His back arched and he closed his eyes, tilting his chin up to give his lover better access to the newly dyed flesh. "Keep talking like that and I'll design one for you too just so I can do the same," the Toreador whispered, keeping himself still except for the clenching of his fingers in the sheets.

"I think I like the sound of that," Max replied, shivering. "You marking me with your design and then feeding from it. Oh yeah, I like that idea a lot!" Drawing Zane's legs up and over his shoulders, Max slotted his cock into his lover's tight channel, his eyes glittering darkly as his lips drew back to reveal a demonic grin as he watching himself sink into the Kindred's body with ease.

Zane hissed out his agreement as he felt Max take him, the heat of the fallen angel's cock warming his cold body as Max pressed inward, filling Zane. Claws that were slightly elongated ran down Max's back, raising a trail of tiny droplets of blood behind them before Zane brought his fingers to his mouth to lick the delicious vitae away. Relaxing his legs so that Max could get closer, Zane pulled his lover in for a kiss before feeling the fallen angel's fingers tracing over his neck and the new design there. "I think you need to be marked on your inner thigh," he purred, reaching down and around them to stroke along the soft flesh there. "Right over the femoral artery. What a fucking turn on it would be to feed from you there, feeling your cock next to my face, hearing the blood pumping through your veins..." The Kindred shuddered at the thought and rippled his muscles around Max's cock. "Fuck me, Maximilian. Show me what this ink means, that I'm yours."

"Yes. You are," Max growled possessively, his hips beginning to snap back and forth with ever increasing speed. Soon Max was pounding into the Kindred, literally slamming against him as he drove Zane further and further into the mattress.

"All mine. Forever mine. Eternally mine. Never letting you go, never letting anyone take you from me. My lover, my love, _Mine_!" the fallen angel snarled before bending his head to lave at a pale cinnamon nipple, and then, viciously, he bit down on it as hard as he could, smearing his lips with his lover's blood.

Surging up, Max kissed Zane hard, returning the Kindred's life essence to him.

Zane's eyes flashed red, then silver, and he fought the Beast inside him when it demanded more than the thin blood he'd nourished himself with earlier. Max's neck was so close, but no, he could control the craving. He _would_ control it.

Grunting softly as Max slammed into him, Zane felt the burn of the remnants of the fallen angel's blood heating with in him just as Max's cock was burning him with each stroke. His nails dug deeper into Max's back, and Zane could feel the blood seeping out from the rent flesh. The scent drove him wild, and he raised his legs higher, wanting more, wanting everything in the world that Max could offer.

Max howled as he felt his back shred and slammed harder and harder into his mate, desperate to force Zane over the edge so that he too could find his release. "Come for me, come for me, damn you!" he snarled, a hand wrapping around Zane's cock and pumping it in time to his thrusts. "I want to feel your seed, want to see you lick it off my hand, want to flood you and claim you. Give it to me, my love, give me everything!"

Feeling Zane's body contort and twist under his, Max added one final goad. "You've made such a bloody mess of my back the only way it'll heal fast is if you lick it clean, and you can't do that until you've come and made me come too, pretty Zane. Now come for me."

Fangs flashing, low snarls emerging from his throat, Zane held onto his humanity by the slimmest of margins. Max was pushing, demanding everything he could offer, and the Beast wanted to show the fallen angel just what that entailed. As he moved, caught between the solid length impaling him and the tight grip on his cock, Zane felt oddly fluid, like his bones had acquired new joints or flexibility, but he couldn't concentrate on that - all he wanted was to come and to taste Max's blood, in which order he didn't care.

Snarling, looking less and less human with each second, Zane lunged upwards and froze, every muscle in his body standing out in stark relief when he came, squeezing Max's cock so tightly that he could feel each individual pulse when his lover spurted inside of him. Reaching between them with a hand dappled with the fallen angel's blood, Zane grabbed Max's wrist, licking and sucking his own bloody semen off his fingers, beyond caring that his carelessness opened small wounds in Max's skin with his fangs.

Once that blood was gone, the Toreador pulled himself around and up to drag his tongue across the small rivulets of heady blood running down Max's back. Lapping at each stream, tracing it back to the source and suckling greedily at the tears until they closed, Zane cleaned his lover's back, panting and growling as he searched the now smooth expanse of skin for more sustenance.

Slowly coming back to himself, Zane rested his forehead against Max's back, then frowned, realizing that Max was still inside him. How the hell could he be bent halfway around and over his lover this way if that was the case? Lifting his head slowly from the fallen angel's back, Zane shoved his hair back with a hand that shook slightly. "What the fuck did I do, Max?"

Maximilian rolled sideways, pulling Zane on top of him as he did so. His hand smoothed up and down the young Kindred's back, soothing the panic he heard and felt in his lover's voice and body. "I'm not sure, baby, but whatever it was, it was hot. Don't worry, Zane, we'll piece it together."

Closing his eyes, Max played the events back as best he could and compared what he remembered to what he knew of the Kindred. "From what I remember of my Kindred lore, the Gangrel have the strongest shape-shifting abilities. They could mold their bodies into amazing shapes, much like you did. The ancients can do it too - they have the attributes of all the clans. It could be that the whole drinking from the font crap actually has sped up your evolution as a Kindred. You're on par with the ancients now, love."

Eyes still somewhat wild, Zane held himself still, feeling the bones in his back shift and settle into their original positions, losing the perplexing elasticity they had acquired. This didn't seem like any Gangrel shape-shifting he'd ever seen; it seemed more like a Tzimisce. "You saying I'm part Shimmy now? Fuck! They're twisted bastards, and I don't mean what they do to their bodies. I don't know about this, Max..."

He propelled himself off the bed, stalking around the room, not noticing that the shadows following his movements writhed as though they were alive. "Okay, yeah, I can deal with this." More power wasn't a bad thing, if he learned how to control it. "Just don't go telling me I'm going to start looking like a Nossie, okay? That would suck!" The thought of looking like one of the decrepit, information-gathering Kindred turned Zane's stomach, and he felt vaguely ill when he finally settled back on the bed beside Max.

Maximilian couldn't help himself. A snicker came out first, followed by a chuckle and then finally a full-throated amused roar complete with tears streaming and clutching of his sides. After long moments he finally managed to get himself back under control and wiped the mirthful tears away, watching Zane watch him.

"Zane, babe, I don't think you have anything to worry about, lover. That was _pure_ Toreador talking, complete with the arrogance, misogyny and diva-ishness of 90% of the Toreadors I've ever met," the head fallen angel informed his lover. "As for looks, if anything you've grown more beautiful than ever. I get hard just from looking at you. Of course I get hard when I _think_ about you, so that doesn't say much about my control but...

"You have no idea, Zane, how it makes me feel to know my blood is doing that to you. My blood is making you strong. Oh, lover, it's..." Maximilian shuddered delicately as the heat washed over him. "It's beyond words how that makes me feel."

The Kindred remained quiet and still, watching Maximilian through narrowed eyes. Finally he chuckled, and the corners of his mouth turned upward as he smiled. "Good answer, Max. Very good answer." He settled back against the head of the bed, circling Max within his arms and pulling the fallen angel with him. "So you really think I'll be able to do anything within Kindred power with time?"

Petting Zane's thigh with one hand, the other clasping one of the Kindred's, Max let his eyes slide shut in lazy satiation and his head find its way into the perfect spot between neck and shoulder for him to rest against. "What did that bitch of a sire tell you about the old ones, Zane. The first of your kind and what they were capable of?"

Zane shrugged. "Can't really say, I didn't pay much attention to history lessons, even in school. I only remember that the Antideluvians were before the flood and they could eat even the strongest of us for a snack today. I remember her telling me something about how the Ravnos were almost wiped out when their sire woke up - they all started attacking and killing each other - weird, huh?"

"No, not weird. They were reacting to his thoughts, his hunger, his madness. If you continue to drink from me, and I want you to, believe me," Max purred, moving his hips slightly and grinding his ass back against the younger man's penis.

"You'll be like your ancestors were - like the Antideluvians - if you keep drinking from me, Zane. You'll be able to control the thoughts of your Clan; they'll come at your beck and call, react to your moods. You will be primogen, if you should so desire it, even Prince. You'll be as the most ancient of your kind were - empowered by the blood of angels."

Letting his long fingers play over Max's stomach, Zane tilted his head to the side, contemplating the idea. Finally, he shrugged. "Sounds cool, but it doesn't really matter to me. I made some childer, in San Fran, and let's just say it didn't work out well. I'm not in a hurry to make more of them any time soon. Besides, watching them would take time away from you, and that's where I'd rather be right now."

"It's where I'd rather have you. In my bed, in my life, in my heart. Oh, if Gregory could see me now, I think he'd be beside himself. After all, we fallen angels aren't supposed to have any redeeming qualities, and I _am_ my father's son, his heir yadda yadda... I'm supposed to be making a hell on earth not making love - such blasphemy!" Maximilian grinned.

"Father is quite amused by it all. He always did like to shock the people from upstairs with less than orthodox behavior," Max continued absently. "But enough about the rest of the world, when are you going to show me my new club, _your_ club?"

Resting his chin on Max's shoulder, Zane smiled. "Two days, lover. Do you think you can wait that long? The grand opening will be Friday, and after that... I think we'll both have quite a bit to keep us busy."

"I'm sure I'll be able to contain myself, provided I have some distractions. And I do have various business interests to oversee, humans to corrupt, good guys to taunt, mayhem to perform, that sort of thing. And I'll have you to keep my nights active. I think I'll survive somehow," Max laughed, crooking his neck slightly in unspoken invitation.

"And just what did you have in mind afterwards?"

Growling low in his throat as the long, clean lines of Max's throat were bared to his gaze, Zane turned his head to rub his fangs over the thin skin. "That, you will find out when the time comes." That said, he pressed his incisors against Maximilian's skin just hard enough to pierce it, lapping the small trickle of blood, straining his control over himself and the Beast within him.

"That sounds ominous. I do love ominous; it does wonders for my mood," Maximilian joked as his eyes hooded slumberously and his whole body relaxed into the fatal kiss. "And let's not forget - I want your tattoo on me, soon."

"Soon, Maximilian, very soon." Promising this, Zane let his fangs press deeper into Max's neck, piercing his artery and taking a heady gulp of the thick blood before pulling back, licking the wound to close it.

"I'll talk to my darling Cat tonight and get things set up... Before you see the club for the first time, I think. That would be fitting."

"Always the poet and the artist, my Toreador," the fallen angel replied with a smug grin. "I chose well when I chose you. But even I could not have seen what changes you'd bring and what havoc you'd wreak. I only saw my own goals, the means to my ends. I didn't see my life, which is what I ultimately found."

Rolling over in Zane's arms so that they were face to face and body plastered to body, Maximilian took Zane's face between his hands and kissed the full lips softly, lapping his own blood from them as he did so. "We're going to set the world ablaze before we're done," Max husked.

"Fire..." Zane's dark eyes closed for a moment, and he sighed with pleasure. "What a way to go. You burn me, so it's only right the world should join along. You and me, Max. They don't stand a chance."


End file.
